AN Interprovincial Championship unlike any other in the history of the game in this country has just been completed. Now the four provinces turn their attention to the European scene. All four will be involved next weekend.

Despite the absence of so many of the Ireland squad, the interprovincial series was a good and worthwhile competition. Was it devalued by the absence of the England based contingent? In a sense, yes, in that it both deprived the players concerned of the opportunity to play at representative level and deprived the national selectors the opportunity to see these players in action outside a club environment.

But there was also a credit side. The provinces brought in a host of new and young players, and they gained valuable experience. Maintaining the interprovincials is imperative. Several of those who participated this season are still eligible for the Ireland under 21 team, and with Ireland due to play four A internationals this season - France is on the A schedule again after 20 years - there are quite a few players who have considerably enhanced their prospects of making the Ireland A team.

Some of the matches this season were very good, and none better and very few as good as the Leinster Munster game last Saturday week.

The interprovincials are, of course, official Irish trials. Obviously the absence of so many contenders for the national team was unfortunate in that context, and unfortunate in the European context as well. Also, the refusal of English clubs to release Irish players denies them the chance to play at a high level of competition and denies the Ireland selectors of seeing them in action at that level.

The attitude and actions taken by the London Irish club, in the ban they have imposed, has rendered Irish rugby a great disservice, and the manner in which the London Irish did it is indefensible. But the matter is not at rest, as seen by the statement issued yesterday. The whole saga is a bitter and telling lesson for players about what is embraced in signing contracts for English clubs. I still hope London Irish will have a change of heart.

I wrote some weeks ago that rugby is now such that a word is no longer a bond. We have been told how the new age of the "open" game was the dawn of a new and exciting era, a new deal for players who would get their due recompense and everything in the garden would be lovely. They are learning the hard facts of life as professionals.

What has happened has certainly heralded the end of an era. It has also removed players from the reach of provincial management and limited the players' freedom. They are employees of trading companies and boards whose directors' ultimate objective is to maximise the profits and climb the ladder of power.

Clubs in England bought players from near and far, the young and promising, and the old who were ready to cash in while the going was good. They have signed rugby league players on short term contracts. Then, having done so, the clubs held the game to ransom to finance their schemes. They threatened revolution. They formed their association and tried to do their television deals. Sadly, there in their midst is London Irish, the club with a special relationship with Irish rugby.

Messrs Donal Kerr and Sir John Hall, the Woolworths diamonds and bleeding hearts of EPRUC, who constantly tell us their primary concern is for all the clubs, are the people to whom the London Irish club has now clearly allied itself. Did the hearts of Kerr and Hall bleed last Saturday for two of the clubs for whom they purport to speak and to whose interest they are allegedly dedicated, Orrell and Rugby? Orrell had 89 points scored against them by Kerr's club, the League of Nations outfit Harlequins.

Orrell lost practically a whole team, 13 first team players at end of last season. Meanwhile, Hales multi national outfit at Newcastle scored an all time league record number of points, 156 against Rugby. I hope those scorelines concentrate the minds of some of the EPRUC clubs. Rugby and Orrell last Saturday, who next month? What a great advertisement for the market forces philosophy.

RUGBY is in a new age of discovery, God help us all. It is about feeling the weight of the wallet. A long and forbidding shadow has been cast down the corridor of rugby history and old loyalties. The founding fathers of London Irish, such as R S Dyas and Martin Doyle, must be restless in the Elysian Fields.

How ironic it is, too, that the main sponsors of London Irish, Guinness, should also happen to be sponsors of the Interprovincial Championship. At the reception to announce that sponsorship, the importance of European competition for the provinces and for the greater good of the Ireland team was stressed.

The statements made by the chief executive of London Irish, Duncan Leopold, are not in my view helpful. He is one of those who gave the specific undertakings about the release of the players; significantly, he has refrained from making any reference to those undertakings in his contentious statements, or to the specific understanding the players had when they signed for London Irish that they would be released for the European Cup.

"It would be a disgrace for the IRFU to use the players as a baton in a running dispute with us," he said. But who is using the players, and are their best interests being served by the London Irish attitude? The club has made a poor start to the season, and one appreciates that. But they stated that the European conference in which they participate is not a priority. Will the players be happy to be denied playing with the provinces and will it foster team spirit and contentment? I doubt it very much. Most certainly it could not be expected of them to release players if they had Courage League matches. Their next match in that is on October 30th.

Nor was Leopold wise to play the EPRUC card. EPRUC is apparently counting on London Irish support. "It would not be fair to the other teams for us to release players to strengthen the provinces," Said Leopold. Why did he not tell the IRFU and the players the club did not want their players playing against EPRUC clubs in Europe, instead of giving a clear commitment?

London Irish is an affiliated club to EPRUC; it is also an affiliated club to the IRFU. The club has benefits that no Irish club enjoys. They have direct representation on the council of the IRFU. Their delegate each year gets the opportunity to address the a.g.m. of the IRFU. Last June, Michael Gibson performed that function and told us how important to and supportive of Irish rugby the club is. They also get an international ticket allocation from the IRFU.

I will leave the case rest, but be sure of one thing London Irish is no longer the great outpost of Irish rugby. Unless there is a change of heart, the club will give Irish rugby the cold slap which will surely be interpreted as a suitable symbol of where their affinity now lies.